Iris
by Warlordess
Summary: Starfire witnesses a freestyle painter in the park and indulges in a piece of work of her own. But... She's having trouble finding a muse... RobinStarr hints.


Title - Perfect Iris

Author - Chibi-Suiko

Summary - Starfire witnesses a freestyle painter in the park and indulges in a piece of work of her own. But... She's having trouble finding a muse...

Dedication - To Silverflare07 as thanks for the reviews, appreciation, dedication, and sisterly love. Chibi is pleased and glowing because of you!

Author's Notes - Nothing much to say. I just remembered reading something sweet like this, so I wanted to reapply it towards Robin/Starr. I'm sorry if you find this strange or offending in any way. Please R and R and give some positive/neutral/or constructive feedback. Thanks in advance!

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Clear morning skies, blue jays, crystal-clear water, and the sight of many people bearing smiles on the streets was the scene caught onto by one, Starfire of Tamaran, as she headed back towards the Teen Tower, two bags of groceries in hand. They had run low on edible food and high on the putrid 'blue, fuzzy looking stuff' again and she had been sent out with a VERY specific list of what to buy. Being a hero, she was gladly welcome in any shop and was helped by about six different people until she finally got it all right.

She had blushed embarrassingly every time. It reminded her ruefully of that morning, when she had decided to 'try out' some of the supposedly disgusting 'moldy' accommodations in their fridge... right before Robin had told her that humans usually threw the so-called 'rotting' dishes away. Knowing that she HAD to have done something wrong, and in front of Robin no less, she had told him that, upon disposal of the trash, she would fly into town and get new nourishment.

And now she was traveling through the park on her way back, during one of the most beautiful days she'd ever seen. It was so much nicer to walk with Mother Nature acting so kindly. She only wished she could make that bright happiness last. Two more feet and suddenly... She turned her head towards the bay. There was a young woman there and she was... Recreating the horizon on some square board. Wanting to get a closer look, Starfire walked up to her and inspected from over her shoulder. The mysterious woman said nothing at first but then...

"You know, it's a distraction to an artist when someone chooses to breathe down her neck."

Starfire stepped back a bit and decided to choose her words carefully, "I... Am sorry. Should I take my breathing somewhere else?"

The woman sighed, "It's all right. C'mon, I suppose now that you're here, you might as well take a look and see." She placed her brush next to the color board and leaned back in her chair, inspecting her piece and looking over the easel towards the water. She was rating her own work, hoping to make the scene perfect.

Starfire screwed her eyes to a certain spot. Somehow... Something wasn't right.

"I think you have made a mistake." She pointed towards the right side of the painting and then looked in the same direction of the sky, "I do not see any pink there. I only see blue. Perhaps you have misjudged the color?" To her surprise, the woman chuckled.

"Child, I haven't misjudged a thing. What you see isn't always everything. It's a beautiful area, that's true, the sky is absolutely gorgeous. But talents like myself have a way of finding their own perfection. And so, I made a point to make my picture different. It adds more... Reality into this unreal weather." She sighed and turned towards Starfire, "Well, I should be getting back to work. It's a pleasure meeting you, Miss. I hope you find your own way of creating perfection someday." She held out her hand and Starfire smiled in recognition, but made a point in gesturing towards her bags, "Ah, of course. Silly me. Such a wonderful overseer I am, and yet, sometimes we humans can be so blind."

Starfire smiled, "If anything, I have never seen a more fascinating and prospering species."

The woman quirked an eyebrow, "You're not from around here, then, I'm willing to bet?"

"Not exactly. I'm from the planet Tamaran. It's just two galaxies and six warp holes north of here. It's quite an easy distance to travel."

"I'm... Sure. Listen, would you like to do something for me?"

"I will if I am able." With that, the woman turned around and another large square tab board from her bag. Then she removed three paint brushes and eight small color tubes.

"I want you, dear, to paint something. Not for me, or for another... But for yourself. You never know what you could find out from the unseen world." And she held out the few 'ingredients' that Starfire would be using later on. She took them, unsure what to think, unsure how to thank her giver... But she bowed in a friendly matter and bid her farewell, promising her that she "wouldn't let the talentress down".

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Ten minutes later she was throwing things into the fridge, her eyes glimmering with excitement as she looked at the easel in which she would make something beautiful. She hadn't been asked about her artistry products. In fact, no one else seemed to be around. Raven was off meditating somewhere; Beast Boy had disappeared with Cyborg to go 'video game hunting' and Robin was... Well, she had reason to believe that he was training like Hell in that private hall he always disappeared into whenever he had something to stew on about.

So, when she walked out onto the balcony to see a sunset that would rival that of what the artist had been procreating, she was alone. She looked around and beyond, hoping that she could find something of inspiration. All that she happened to see in sight was the exact same sea that her 'friend' had been working on. She didn't want to copy her idea's... She had to think of something more original.

Almost half an hour later, she was still standing stark-still, hoping that a worthwhile thought would come to mind. But soon she was found sulking wondrously in the light spring air. She looked up into the blanket of night and noticed the dark velvetiness of the sky. Stardust scattered across it like a sparkling river, or a speckled egg. Every now and then she would recognize one of those comets that she had passed on her way to Earth.

And that's when it hit her. Night was the mask held over the day. It was the very coat of paint that she was looking to see beyond. It was perfect; which was exactly what she'd been told to go for.

But the sky was far too wide to make herself. So she had to work just a bit smaller.

A smile lit across her face as she looked back towards the tower. She recognized Beast Boy and Cyborg sitting replenished with a new PS2 game to settle their nerves. Raven was... Being Raven, she guessed; reading and finding it much more enjoyable than the boyish laughter of one, Beast Boy. But Robin was still unseen. Which, for the moment, was just fine with her.

As long as she knew that he was safe...

She picked up her easel and lay it horizontally in front of her. Then, picking up the red, white, yellow, and black paint tubes, she began to mix them together. Soon she had a nicely blended brown, golden honeycomb, and charcoal gray. It was perfect to work with.

Starting out slow, she dabbed smartly at the thick board, forming two almond shapes sitting next to each other. This seemed to please her because she recoated her brush with a new color and flecked a bit more black around the center and rounds. She stood for a moment, admiring a "job well done", before wrinkling her brows together. Still, so much left to do... She sighed and swept some of the honeycomb coloring overtop the center, just a bit to blend in. Then, she gathered some of the brown and coated overtop some of the black and yellow.

So now she had two largely enhanced circles on her easel, black with miraculously almond colored brown and goldenrod flecks. She still had no idea where she was going with what she'd started. She knew what she was doing, she just didn't know how.

"The Miss would want me to draw perfection without knowing what it is like..?" She was confused about the woman's words. Was there no way to draw perfection? Especially when you don't know what it looks like... But the 'talent', as she called herself, had found a way to place such a thing on paper.

"Starr..? There you are." Came the simple male voice from behind her. She let out a small shriek of shock and turned to see Robin. She had been concentrating so hard that she didn't even hear the patio door close.

"Er... Robin, you are awake?"

He chuckled and, in a laughing tone, said, "Obviously. I just noticed that you weren't being entertained by Beast Boy and Cyborg's usual battle over the remote tonight and I wanted to be sure that you were okay. So... Are you?"

"I am fine, Robin. In fact, I am just painting." She said the word slowly, as if it were still a bit foreign to her.

"Painting? Well, that's new for you. I didn't even know you knew what painting was."

"Well, I did not. I was coming home from The Shopping for the Groceries today and a young woman was sitting in the park and seemed to be spewing vibrant colors on a stiff piece of paper that was standing on a few logs of wood." Starfire recounted her story, making sure not to leave anything out, "She began talking to me, and offered me a chance to paint on my own. I am trying to find something she called... 'Perfection'... Something perfect, flawless, faultless, seamless..." Starfire had gotten a sort of starry look in her eyes, but it was lost a moment later, "...But I did not think that it would take so long."

Robin nodded. Not wanting to tell her that her wish would take a much longer time to fulfill than just a couple of hours, said, "Well, why don't you tell me what you're trying to paint? Maybe I could... Help." Not that he thought it possible. He was a crime fighter, not an idealist.

"Oh, glorious! ...But..." She broke off, "I am trying to recite something that I've never seen. And so it would be useless to..." Her eyes widened as she stared at him. He smiled, moved forward, took one of her paint brushes and readied himself beside her painting. It now looked like a couple of... Big brown--Or was it green? ...Hazel?--blobs.

"Well, just let me know. You might be surprised." She blushed and then stepped forward.

'Yes, Robin. I was hoping to draw... A light brown color around here." She circled her long finger between the two sharp ovals, "And make it slightly darker up here." She drew her fingers towards the top of the easle now.

Robin nodded and, pretending to look like he knew what he was doing, began working. They prodded and smoothed a few layers of light tan paint around something that looked like a bridge and then Starfire surprised him by lining some rich black impressions loosely, and randomly, from the top to the middle. By the time they had made good progress it was well past midnight and Robin's curiosity was beginning to mentally egg him on and tempt him into asking the Tameranian girl what she'd been trying to make out of it.

"Hey, Starr..?" She looked at him, a smudge of yellow paint highlighted on her cheek, "Now that we've gotten this far, can you tell me what you were trying to make?" She seemed slightly deterred by his question but smiled soon after.

"Can you not tell Robin?" Looking at the picture and quirking his head a bit to the right, still making nothing of it, he shook his head.

"Not exactly, Starr..."

"I was... Painting you." Okay, his attention was immensely aroused now, "Or, rather... Not you, but a part of you that I have never seen. Your eyes have always made me curious Robin and so... Inspired by my want to see them, I created them as I thought they would look. And I think that they would look... Like this." For the first time, Robin looked at their work for what it was and saw, with a sudden realization, that it was obvious.

Almond shaped with flecks of goldenrod and high-lined black around the edges, a deep rich brown entranced by a tanned complexion, and shaped around sharp black bangs... It WAS him, even if it had seemed so hard to compare a moment before. Obviously Starfire knew what she was doing.

"But... er... Starr, you've never seen my eyes. How do you know that they'd look like this?" Robin asked her.

She suddenly gasped and smiled, finally understanding the women's words. She had learned her lesson and was currently finding it to be unbelievably understandable and correct. She had never thought that philosophy would interest her... But the philosophy of a visual artist was just a bit more overwhelming than that of a scientist or a historian.

Turning slightly red, she smiled serenely at him upon his unconscious recognition towards her work. Then she said the first thing that came to mind.

"Sometimes, Robin, perfection is better left unknown."

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A/N: I don't think I'll be trying my hand at another Rob/Starr fic for a LONG time. After I finish Blackfire's Return I think that I'll retire from the fandom. I seriously consider this fic horribly created and the characters mega-OOC... Anyway, tell me what you think about it. Just try and keep the flames to a minimum because this is only my second try and so I'm still considered "new" to the Rob/Starr romance factor.

REVIEWS NEEDED!

Chibi ending transmission.


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